234: Taking Your Talk Virtual

Hey movers, it's Sally Z with Be Moved, and I help purpose-driven entrepreneurs like you create talks that move their audience and the world. How awesome is that? And on the show today, we are talking about taking your keynote or your signature talk and taking it virtual, applying it to all kinds of contexts. Are you ready? Let's do it. Hey movers, it's Sally Z with Be Moved. Let's go. Let's go create some talks that will move this world. We're going to talk with amazing speakers, share tips, tricks, resources, and we are going to be moved so that our audience can be moved. This moved me. What is moving you? Hey everybody, I'm so excited to be with you today. As you can see, if you're watching me on video. I've got a little different background here today. I'm still at the cabin and loving it. It is a gorgeous day out. Change of scenery was so needed for this soul. Oh my gosh, I hope you guys are, um, breathing fresh air and getting outside and enjoying this amazing world. And I'm especially jazzed right now because we are midway through the Signature Talk Studio launch. It launched last Thursday. I've been doing webinars webinars, and I hope if you haven't yet caught the TED-worthy talk map webinar, I would love for you to come join me. I think there's still, I think there's still, there's one still today depending on when you're listening to this, and then, oh my gosh, on Thursday, the day the cart closes, we are doing a live Crowdcast launch party. Okay? It's gonna be awesome. I'm gonna bring some people on screen with me. We're gonna take your questions. I'm gonna still share with you the talk map and get after that content, but also have a lot of fun in the process because I like to have fun. That's an important part of this for sure. And I thought since we are, we're in the middle of this launch, I thought it would be great to tackle one of the big questions that I've been getting. And this is that question not just recently, but really for the last few months, and I think it's an important one. And the question is, in this time when so much of our work has been shifting to virtual and really acknowledging it's going to be a while before we are all in those sort of big live settings together again, what is the real value of a signature talk? Like, do I really— do I need one and is now a good time to invest in one if we're not going to be live together? Well, there's a, there's a lot of stuff in that. So first of all, I do want you to know that I'm talking to event planners a lot and they are booking speakers right now for their 2021 events. So it's not as— people are still very optimistic and looking ahead to live events. So they're not going anywhere. They're coming back. And of course, in my mind, wouldn't it be great to be able to approach that moment and be ready and, and to start pursuing those things because you have something that you're proud of? Like, that's pretty fabulous. But of course, between now and then, there's going to be tons of virtual opportunities, which is where this show comes in today. When you have a powerful signature talk that you trust, that you're proud of, you can take it virtual and apply it into all kinds of different contexts. So here's some stats for you. April 2020 survey, so pretty recent, 1,700 event planners. Here, here were some stats for you. 66% of them had postponed their events versus canceling them. And 7 out of 10 of those respondents have moved their face-to-face event coming up soon to either partially virtual or fully virtual. Meaning a lot of people are just saying, "Let's try this virtual thing." And my gut is, it'll be interesting to see what happens, my gut is that there's pros and cons. To live and pros and cons to virtual. I think people are gonna find that, um, that there are some real benefits to virtual. So I don't think they're gonna go away. So I think that this content is not just like pandemic-proofing you, but really useful skill for the long haul. Okay, so when you have a signature talk, that you can pull out of your pocket, you're using it in, in all kinds of different ways, okay? Whatever the context, it can prepare you for that eventual live talk, of course, but it also can prepare you for the virtual one. But here's the thing: thinking in a virtual context does require some shifts and for us to be intentional in a few specific ways. So I wanna share with you those 3 areas that I want you to be thinking about in particular as you shift your content from live to virtual. So here are the 3 basic things I want you to think about. I want you to think about, number 1, adjusting your content. Kind of a no duh, but here's some filters to use as you're thinking about that. If you're shifting your talk to virtual, it means that you have to think about your content in two ways. What is needed for your audience? Okay, so where does your expertise meet their needs? And then also what works virtually? Because some content just doesn't work great virtually. And that's really important for you to know. Those are two different filters, but we want, in virtual content, we don't just want something that's great virtually, but doesn't fit your audience's need. And we don't want something that just speaks to what your audience needs, but can't be translated well virtually. Okay, it's gotta fit both of those filters. So let's just say that you're a coach and you work with leaders to help them, execute on their goals. Okay. I work with a lot of coaches. There are a lot of coaches in my audience, um, because speaking is a big way that you share your content and your ideas and connect with people. Okay. So what your audience might need right now is something about really adjusting your goals during a crisis, right? How do I reshift what's possible? How do I manage my mindset around it? Right. There's a lot around that that might be really valuable for your audience. So they might need the nitty-gritty details around that and might want to see what, uh, the, like, a good execution plan. They might have a lot of needs there. But so that's great because that means you've got a ton of content that you can offer them. But what works in a virtual setting is not going to be those nitty-gritty details. It might be something more like the offering the framework or the visual plan, um, that they need before you can dive in. You might be able to get into more details depending on if it's a webinar versus more of a keynote. Um, you've got to use your own filter for that, but you really want to make sure that it both suits their need and works virtually. Now, 80% of the time, I think what works live will also work virtually, but there's going to be some stuff that just doesn't on the fly. So make sure it checks both of those boxes. Okay, that's the first thing. The second thing I want you to think about adjusting is adjusting the context from which you speak. So this is where you're going to think about, um, adjusting your space, um, and creating that context so that it is still an experience for your audience, an intentional experience that you are setting up and creating. A little intention here goes a long way. So context, I'm thinking about like your lighting, your sound, making sure that of course you can be seen and heard. Because once you've been— once you can be seen and once you can be heard well, then you can focus on being understood. So very simple things like making sure your lighting source is coming at you from the front, not from behind. Um, making sure you've got a really basic microphone setup. Um, doesn't have to be fancy, but it just needs to work. Once you have done those basic things, then you focus on, um, the content and making sure that you can be understood as well. Now, as with the live experience, distraction is still the bar. So I talk about that a lot from a live experience in terms of how we show up physically or some of those other elements that people really worry about. And I was like, okay, let's just— distraction is the bar. As long as it's not distracting for people, you're fine. And there's a little more leeway for that in live events. But oh my gosh, when we talk about a virtual setting, the distraction bar is pretty low. And what that means is that it's really easy to get distracted in a virtual setting. So, you know, you can get distracted by like how your own face looks and like what you're seeing back at yourself when you're doing this, or what the sign says over your shoulder that people are really drawn to and they're thinking about that instead of listening to what you have to say. Or maybe a Bing goes off for your audience and they're all of a sudden into their email, or they pull out their phone because they got a like on Instagram, or their children walk in the room, or oh my gosh, the distractions are multiplied by, I don't know, bajillions. That's not a real word, but you know what I'm saying, right? It's very distracting, the whole setting. And so what we have to do when we present virtually is to the best of our ability, limit those distractions so people can really focus in and hear what we're saying. We— it's our job to create the context that helps them focus where we want them to focus when we want them to focus. Now there's a lot we cannot control on this, so we've got to do everything we can to set that up for success. So things like keeping your background really simple, keeping what you're wearing really simple, making sure you're avoiding things that don't invite in questions from your audience that take their brain somewhere where you don't want them to go. Now, sometimes we do things very intentionally to get them to go, "Hmm, what is that?" Right? That's intentional. That's different. That's fabulous. I think that kind of thing is great. But unintentional distraction? Mm-mm. That's not what we're— that's not what we're going for. Avoiding distraction is also around things like, of course, your technology. So you've got to test your tech and your equipment so that doesn't take focus away from what you're really trying to do. And then of course, just being intentional, um, about where you want your audience's eyes to be. Is it on you? Is it on the slide? When do you want them on the slide? When do you want them on you? When do you want them on your video? When do you want them back at you? That's called holding the con and managing the con or the control of the situation. So you still have the con, you've got control of the ship, and it's your job to direct that for your audience. Pro tip. All right, now the third area that I want you to think about adjusting as you take your talk virtual is in adjusting the way you connect. Do you see what I did there? I got 3 Cs. Adjusting your content, adjusting your context, and now we're gonna talk about adjusting the way that we connect. Now, there's 2 ways I want you to think about adjusting your connection. And the first is in how you create connection. So we do that by how you deliver your content, right? Making sure that your content really resonates, that you've got stories that are, really a powerful connection point, that they— that you've got potent ideas and insights that your audience really needs. That kind of work does a lot of the work for you in terms of connection. People connect and resonate with your content. But we also create connection by how we approach our mindset, by imagining a friendly face. Beyond the camera, even if you're speaking to an empty room and it feels like nobody's there. But of course, when somebody is watching it or listening to it, they are there with you. But we have to do the work of reaching out beyond the camera to make that connection. It's really up to us to do that. So that's the one part of connection that is creating that connection. But we can also— the second piece is in asking for connection from your audience. So, um, often that's very— in a virtual context, very simply utilizing the tools that are right there waiting for you in your platform. So, and a lot of these are even better than if we were live. So it's like using your chat features, the polls, the CTA buttons. It's about making your face visible as much as possible, not hiding behind the slide and having this just become an audio thing, because it's much easier to sort of disengage when it's like that, right? It's about utilizing, um, all the parallel ways we have to communicate, um, that are adjacent to just the presentation. Uh, this opens up all kinds of possibilities that are really particular to the virtual setting, and I think that that is Awesome. If we think about the experience that we're creating and the connection we want to create with our audience, not just as the moment we're here, but in everything leading up to it and everything that follows. Oh my gosh, that's pretty awesome. So what that means is when we're speaking virtually, the first time you sort of step out on stage, to use the parallel of a live experience, is really like the first email they get from you. About this event. It's the registration process. All of that is managing the experience and the connection that you have with your audience. So it's worth spending a little time thinking about that. With all of this, the bottom line is this: the heart and core of your signature talk can help you step out front for these moments, virtually or in person. And when we need to apply our signature talk to a new context, what's awesome is you have 75% of your work done for you. Then you simply have to sort through these filters that we just talked about. How can I adjust my content for this moment with this audience? How can I adjust my context? How can I set my audience up for the kind of experience I really want them to have in this moment? And then how can I adjust my strategies for connection so that my audience can feel my intent to engage, to connect, to care, that that is the real core heart and purpose of our work? And I have to say, I mean, I cannot wait for like the thrill of those live events to come back, the joy of those live events. But in the meantime, I have to tell you, I am enjoying, I am so inspired by all of the ways I see people showing up, the creative ways that people are bringing their voice out into the world in new ways. I'm seeing people step out front who have never before because their audiences need them. They need to hear their voice. It is beautiful, it's inspiring, and most importantly, it is moving the world. So if you are someone who— if, if, if this content is really resonating with you, if you are someone who wants to have a signature talk, um, to utilize live or virtually But you need to create that content. Well, I would love for you to join me for the Signature Talk Studio. It is still open through this Thursday. So depending on when you're listening to this, on June 18th, it's closing for a little while. I don't know when I'm gonna open it up again. We'll have to see how this goes and see what the demand is for it. But there's just a few days left to enroll, and I would love for you to join me for this. And be a part of this experience. So let me just really quickly highlight for you what is going to be so awesome about this course, because by the end of it, this 8-week course, you will have a signature talk that you can pull out of your back pocket and use in nearly any context. My gosh, that sounds amazing, right? So this studio is a step-by-step process from beginning to end. Helping you move through your creative blocks, to stay accountable to a timeline, and make room for that creative genius to come and find you when she is ready, when she's got some powerful ahas to offer you, and for you to show up even when she isn't there offering those powerful ahas, because at the end of the day, that makes all the difference. Uh, 3 times throughout the studio, we are going to show up together for these half-day salon workshops where we will be workshopping each other's content. I can, uh, be offering you feedback and guidance and make sure that you're on the right track. So you're not inputting all this effort and come to the end of it feeling disappointed. Nope, we're gonna get you there feeling proud. And then most importantly, I think this course lives on MoversU. Which is this amazing platform where, um, the community lives and where you can access more of my coaching. And I have to tell you, the community side of this has become absolutely one of my favorite parts of my business, where people are showing up every day with their support, with their questions for me, for each other, and all the ways that this amazing community is sharing their voices and making a difference in the world and coming together. In pursuit of that. And it's amazing. So the community side of this, I think, is going to be awesome, and I'm really excited for that personally. So I know that most people come to me, come to me not wanting to become a full-time professional speaker. I know some of you do, but I know most of you, you just, you want to utilize speaking as a powerhouse approach to making a bigger impact, to making your mark, to establishing yourself as a go-to thought leader in your space, um, to influence and engage and impact your audience. And that is a noble, powerful pursuit, and speaking is an amazing way to do that. So if that is you, I would love for you to join me for this course. You can learn more about the studio at bmoove.com/jointhestudio. Oh my gosh, I'm so excited. There's just a few more days to jump in and I would love to see you over there. So, all right, my friends, next week we are diving back into some interview episodes and I'm so excited to share with you this awesome interview I did. I think way back in January was when we recorded this. David Scott, he is a phenomenal speaker and He truly knows how to bring the wow in his delivery. So I think it's, it's, it's a really awesome delivery masterclass from this, the speaker who has spoken all over the world. He's spoken on Tony Robbins' stage. I mean, he is a go big kind of guy and he loves to break delivery rules and I love that. So I'm really excited about this interview, and I'm— I can't wait for you to dive in and check it out with me. I love the conversation. So that's next week, be on the lookout for it. And until then, head on over to bemoove.com/jointhestudio to join me in the studio experience. It's going to be epic, and I really want to help you share your voice with the world and step out front feeling confident and clear and ready to make your mark. Awesome. All right, my friends, this moved me. What is moving you? Where you at? I hope you're doing great, and I'll see you next week.